Sleeping Vata
As with many Vatas, I have chronic insomnia. It is often difficult for me to fall asleep or stay asleep. If life is relaxing and mellow, I can fall asleep relatively well and fall asleep again after waking up in the middle of the night. But if I stay out too late, or am dealing with some stressful situation, I can be an insomniac for days at a stretch, which means I am tired, have negative thoughts, no energy and can’t get much done. When I was in my 30’s, a cup of coffee was the solution, but not these days.
So getting a good night’s sleep is a top priority. Figuring out what works and what doesn’t is this Vata’s science experiment of the decade. If I can get 6.5-7 hours of sleep, including an interruption, I have so much energy!
So how to get 6-7 hours?
First of all, having a wind down practice, as advised by sleep experts, is a necessity. Turn off phones and TV at least one hour before bedtime. Two to three hours is better. Why? One of the reasons is that the screens prohibit the production of melatonin in your brain, which is necessary for falling asleep. Also, what you're watching can wind you up, pumping unneeded adrenaline throughout your body, which will keep you awake.
Once your screens are off, do stuff that keeps you moving around, but not too actively, like washing dishes, baking, reading, singing, making art, listening to music, playing with your pet or doing laundry. Lay out your breakfast for tomorrow morning. Take a stroll around the block. Do the things humans used to do before the advent of the Internet. Yoga (particularly restorative poses), and meditation are important.
Take a look at your sleeping environment: Are there hindrances that keep you from falling asleep naturally? For example, family members making noise, pets, kids, work? Do you have a bedroom that is quiet? Is there good air circulation? Stuffy rooms make for bad dreams. Take time to prepare a sleeping place that works for you.
In preparing for bed, give yourself, or be given, a foot massage with sesame oil, and lotion up your skin, especially if you are in a dry environment. Make sure that there is a box of tissues, a glass of water, a light sleep aid, and/or a banana for the times when you wake up at 3 AM absolutely starving. What else? Share your ideas!
On sleep aids: For awhile, I was taking 1-3 mg of Melatonin if I couldn’t fall asleep, and then again when I woke up in the middle of the night. No more! First of all, it stopped working. Then, I realized that it was giving me hangovers. I am astounded to see 5 and 10 mg tablets of Melatonin being sold in drug stores. I don’t recommend taking melatonin every day.
This year, I discovered that magnesium, which is recommended by other sleep experts, does work to help me fall asleep. I take 200 mg of Magnesium Glycinate 90 min before bed. It has a subtle effect, which, combined with all the other wind down practices, helps me fall asleep.
See my blog on Yoga Nidra which allows you to function on those days when you’re tired.
